A windshield stop, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,824, issued to Hans-Jurgen Lesser, et al on Jun. 1, 1993, is used to support the lower edge of a windshield on an automobile. Such a windshield stop is well known in the automotive industry and is used by multiple manufacturers. The sole function of this disclosed windshield stop is to support the lower edge of the automobile windshield. No other automobile structure is known to be attached to the windshield stop.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,845, issued to Heinz Detampel on Jul. 14, 1987, the windshield is adhesively secured to the body of the automobile with the lower edge of the windshield extending below the adhesive connection. A windshield cowl plate is formed with a groove that receives the lower edge of the windshield and is also mounted to the body structure to hide the engine compartment from view.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,953, issued to Mary Bell on Dec. 2, 1997, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,54.1, issued to Paul S. Razgunas on Apr. 10, 2001, the cowl assembly is depicted as incorporating a screen or grill portion that is connected to the underlying cowl member in a manner to permit limited relative movement therebetween. In Bell, a push pin connects the cowl member and the cowl screen to permit relative movement. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,636, issued to Theodore Kolar, Jr. on Jun. 4, 1996, an elastomeric member is pinned to the cowl assembly and engages the lower edge of the windshield. This member is not supportive of the lower edge of the windshield and also does not support any other structural component of the automobile, including the cowl.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,039, issued to Tsuneyoshi Ohhazama on Jul. 19, 1988, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,075, issued to Masakazu Miyoshi on Dec. 8, 1981, a molding holder for engaging the lower edge of an automotive windshield is disclosed. In neither reference is the molding holder used to support a separate automotive component.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improvement to the windshield stop device presently in known use within the automotive industry to support the lower edge of a windshield to support a separate component, such as the cowling grille.